AMATEUR DRAMA REVIEWS

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The Odd Couple by Neil Simon

Bedford Dramatic Club
at The Place Bedford March 2010

  

Ladies’ Day - Sharnbrook Mill Theatre March 2011

‘Ladies’ Day’ by Amanda Whittington is becoming a very popular choice of play for amateur groups. The play is set in a Hull Fish packing factory and at York racecourse. The four ladies spend a day at the races when Ascot Ladies’ Day transfers to York in 2005. The play recounts their lives, loves, hopes and their success at betting on the Tote accumulator. The four ladies of differing ages, Pearl nearing retirement, Jan late 40’s with daughter just off to university and Shelley and Linda much younger. The ages of the cast of ladies was not as clearly delineated as it might have been, especially Pearl who seemed rather young for her immanent ‘retirement’. There are several parts for men which were designed to be played by the same actor but can be played by several. This group chose two men to play these roles and they were all convincing. It is a ‘feel-good’ play with lovely comedy touches set against the poignant stories of the women.

Sharnbrook Mill Theatre is a lovely venue with excellent seating and good stage views from all parts of the auditorium. The play was performed on an open stage with revolving backdrop between scenes. Additional pieces of furniture were taken on and off by stage crew and cast. The backdrop scenes were rather crudely painted and detracted somewhat. The revolve was an excellent device but the acting area it provided, when used, was limited and restricted the actors’ movements.

Costumes were important in helping to set the scenes and characters. Most of the ladies costumes were appropriate but Shelley’s dress should have been more daring. Red was correct but knee length was wrong and perhaps a dress with a more revealing top should have been considered bearing in mind the comments made by the Ticket tout, Fred and the TV critic, Jim. Care had been taken to ensure the ladies hats did not mask faces. Costumes for the men were excellent.

Accents were important for this play set in Yorkshire. Most of the actors made good attempts at northern accents with Jan less successful in this. Shelley’s voice was rather shrill and on one level. The Director should have searched for more variation. The Jockey, Patrick’s Irish accent was excellent.

This team decided to play the piece for laughs and slapstick and clearly it was enjoyed by the audience. However, this was rather false and tipped over into caricature at times. There is good comedy in the play which contrasts well with the poignant passages. By forcing the comedy, some of these touching poignant moments were lost which was a shame.

The scene where the ladies changed from their fish plant work clothes into Ascot dresses was very well choreographed and most enjoyable. The scene with jockey Patrick and Linda was also a highlight. His description of the winning of a race was well handled but spot lighting might have improved the intensity of this part of the scene.
There was a nice moment during the Barry and Pearl dance scene when Barry ‘disappeared’ leaving Pearl dancing alone with her imaginary image of Barry. The music chosen for this was a bit too lively and could have been more romantic.

The ladies drink Champagne during the play and the effects of this are seen. However Pearl and Jan seemed to get drunk too early and rolling about on the grass was not appropriate. Jan appears in a later scene, clearly under the influence and the effect of this is lost if she has been seen earlier in this state. Pearl is seen in later scenes and has miraculously sobered up!

This is an episodic play with many scene changes. These were handled well. The flying in and out of the running rail mid scene was rather an intrusion though and could easily be in place from the beginning of that scene until the end. It would not have masked the actors. The music, based on Tony Christie’s songs, was appropriate.

There was good work from this team and they had been well drilled, for example the tic-tac scene was very slick. However, the comedy was rather forced and the poignant moments were somewhat lost. It is for this reason that I have reservations about some of the performances. It was an enjoyable evening appreciated by a capacity audience.


Peter Tanswell

 

Neil Simon's classic 1965 comedy “The Odd Couple” was a stage comedy before becoming a film and TV series. Oscar, the ultimate laid-back and untidy slob, and Felix, the obsessive house-keeper and worrier, became room-mates when Felix was thrown-out by his long suffering wife.

Forty-five years later, any stage revival needs a dynamic new Oscar and Felix to make the play work and in this production they were visible sparks between Oscar, expertly played by Keith Pendall and Felix, perfectly portrayed by Brian Gedney.

The opening poker game could have been a bit sharper but the cast soon had the audience laughing.

The scene two confrontation between the lead characters was an excellent piece of theatre with Felix reaching a high state of hysteria after a very controlled build-up.

The brief appearance of two English sisters, willing to offer some much needed female company and who also lived conveniently upstairs, provided enjoyable cameo performances by Julie Blunt and Rosie Loft. Every quip and innuendo was expertly delivered.

As a first step into Direction, Pauline Corbyn is to be congratulated for presenting such an enjoyable night of entertainment.

Alan Hawkins